Copying machine



L. J. SAUER COPYING MACHINE May 22, 1934.

Filed May 29, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet l L. J. SAUER COPYING MACHINE May 22, 1934.

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COPYING MACHINE Filed May 29, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 .fiwewfan Louis Jam/162;

Patented May 22, 1934 PATENT OFFICE COPYING MACHINE Louis J. Sauer, Oak Park, Ill., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Mary G. Joy

Application May 29, 1930, Serial No. 457,235

13 Claims.

This invention relates to copying machines and more particularly to that class of machines known as hectographs or duplicatingmachines and having a fiat printing bed over which is stretched a long and comparatively thin gelatinized band or apron, the ends of the band being secured to and wound upon spindles or spools which are removably supported adjacent the ends of the printing bed, so that by rotating the spools successive sections of the band may be exposed in operative position on the bed.

In this type of machine a platen carriage having a suitable platen roller is usually arranged to travel over the printing bed for impressing the original or the copy sheets on the gelatinized band which receives the impression from the original sheet and transfers it to the copy sheets. The carriage, however, forms no part of the present invention which applies more particularly to improved means for supporting, driving and retaining the spindles to wind the gelatinized apron from one spindle to another and to stretch it over the printing bed.

My invention also contemplates improved means for removably supporting the spindles independently of the driving means as well as suitable means for locking the spindles to hold the band or apron snugly stretched on the printing bed and for quickly and easily releasing the spindles so that the apron may be wound from one spindle to the other to provide a new and unused printing surface.

A further desirable feature comprises operator controlled means for engaging and disengaging the spindles and for releasing the spindles from the locked position in such a manner as to prevent back lash of the gelatinized apron.

This invention also provides means for engaging and retaining the driving engagement independently of the locking means, if desired.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a top plan view of a hectograph machine embodying my invention, the carriage being removed therefrom;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the printing bed and rolls and taken on a line corresponding to line 22 of Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective View of one of the spindles;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view through the front spindle supporting and driving means and taken on a line substantially corresponding to line 4=-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a detail longitudinal section through the front and rear spindle driving and retaining mechanism and taken on a line substantially corresponding to line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail perspective view of the manually operable transmission controlling and releasing means; and

Fig. 6A is a fragmentary perspective view of the cam and cam rods illustrated in Fig. 6, with the cam moved from normal position to control the transmission.

Fig. '7 is a detail perspective view of the spindle engaging and driving means.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the embodiment illustrated comprises side frame members 1 and 2 which are supported in spaced relation by cross bars 3. A printing bed plate 4 is supported on cross bars 5 and substantially in alignment with the top of the side frames 1 and 2. A removable gelatinized printing band or apron 6 is stretched over the printing bed 4, the ends being secured to suitable spindles 7 and 7a which latter are interchangeable and are removably supported in angularly disposed pockets 8 and 8a, respectively, adjacent the ends of the printing bed. The pockets 8 and 8a are in right and left hand pairs at each end of the machine and are formed in spindle supporting members 9 secured to the side frames 1 and 2. These members 9 are preferably formed of sheet metal and secured to the side frames by rivets 10. In practice one of the spindles having an apron wound thereon is dropped in the pockets 8a at the rear of the machine and the other spindle to which the opposite end of the apron is secured, is dropped in the pockets 8 at the front end of the machine and with the apron extending over the printing bed. A suitable driving means, which will be later described, may then be operated to engage the roll 7 at the front of the machine and which may then be driven to move the gelatinized apron over the printing bed to provide a desired printing surface, and the roll id at the rear of the machine may then be retained from rotation by ratchet means, and the driving means which engages the roll 7 is used to stretch the apron snugly in position on the bed, the roll 7 also being retained by similar ratchet means. The spindles are automatically locked by the ratchets and held snugly against bearing rollers 11 pivoted on the frames, and which provide substantially frictionless bearings for the spindles against the tension of the gelatinized apron.

In order to drive the front spindle 7 for the purpose described and to lock both of the spindles in the desired position to retain the apron snugly stretched over the bed. I provide the driving and locking means and the lock controlling means illustrated in detail in Figs. 4 and 5. The driving of the spindle 7 is accomplished by means of a hand wheel 12 secured to a drive shaft 13, which latter is mounted in a ball bearing 14 in the frame 2, and a bearing 15 in a casing 16 which latter is also secured to the side frame 2, and encloses the operating mechanism. A spindle driving member 17 is telescopically mounted in the drive shaft 13 and normally retained in the position shown in Fig. 4 by mea is of a spring 18. A sleeve 19 is slidably mounted on the drive shaft 13 and secured to the drive member 17 by means of a pin 20 extending through slots 21 in the drive shaft.

The spindles 7 and 7a are provided with suitable end bearing caps 22 having star-shaped openings 23 therein to receive a similarly shaped drive head 24 on the driving member 17, as shown in Fig. 4. Both ends of the spindles are provided with similar bearing caps in order that they may be interchangeable and reversible. The driving member control sleeve 19 is provided with a flange 25 and it is obvious that if the sleeve 19, as shown in Fig. 4, is moved to the left, the driving member 17 will be released from the spindle 7 which then may be removed and another one inserted. When the driving member is in engagement with the spindle the latter may be rotated and the gelatinized apron wound thereon and snugly stretched over the printing bed 4, in which condition it will be retained by means of a pawl 26 pivoted at 27 and retained in engagement with a ratchet member 28 on the drive shaft 13, by means of a spring 29. In order to release the driving member 17 from the spindle I provide a yoke 30 pivoted at 31 on a bracket 32 and arranged v to engage the flange 25 of the sleeve 19.

A bell crank lever 33 is mounted on a bracket 34, one of the arms 35 being arranged to engage the yoke 30 for moving the driving member 17 when the bell crank is operated. In order to operate the bell crank 33 and also to release the pawl 26 I provide a double acting cam 36 pivoted on the frame 2 and which is controlled by a handle 37. A cam rod 38 is slidably mounted on the frame 2 and in engagement with the cam 36. The opposite end of the cam rod is provided with a cam 4 1 surface 39 for engagement with a pin 40 on the ratchet pawl 26 when the handle 37 is operated. A shoulder 41 in the cam rod is arranged to engage an arm 42 of the bell crank lever which extends through a slot 43 in the side frame and in a position to be engaged by the cam rod. A similar oppositely disposed cam rod 44 is also slidably mounted on the side frame and in engagement with the cam 36, the cam rods 44 and 38 being held in engagement with the cam by means of a spring 45. It will be noted that if the cam handle 37 is moved in either di- I and a further movement of the cam in the same direction will cause the engagement of the shoulder 41 with the bell crank arm 42, and the bell crank will be operated to move the driving member 17 out of engagement with the spindle 7, this being accomplished by means: of the yolk 30 against which the bell crank arm 33 operates to move the sleeve 19.

The construction and operation of the retaining and engaging mechanism for the spindle 7a is the spindle '7 except that the pawl and ratchet teeth are reversed in order to retain the spindle 7a against rotation while the gelatinized apron is being stretched across the printing bed by the mechanism just described. The retaining mechanism for the spindle 7a also comprises a spindle engaging member 17 slidably mounted in a shaft 13a and which is moved into and out of engagement with the spindle 7a by means of a yoke 30a engaging a flange on a sleeve 1% in the same manner as previously described. The pawl 26a is pivoted at 27a and normally retained in engagement with the ratchet 28a by means of the spring 29a. The pawl 26a is operated by means of a cam surface 47 on the cam rod 44 engaging a pin 40a on the pawl. A bell crank lever 33a is mounted in a similar manner to the bell crank 33 and extends through a slot 46 in the side frame and in a position to be engaged by a shoulder 48 on the cam rod 44. When the cam handle 37 is moved to the right to a position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 5, the cam surfaces 39 and 47 of the cam rods 38 and 44 will operate to release the pawls 26 and 26a and the bell cranks 33 and 33a will be operated to move the spindle engaging members 17 and 17a out of engagement with the star-shaped openings in the spindle caps and the spindles may then be easily removed or inserted in the pockets 8 and 8a. The pawl operating cam surfaces are so arranged and positioned that the rear pawl 26a is released immediately before the release of the front pawl 26 by a partial forward movement of the handle 37. It has been found that this earlier release of the spindle from which the gelatinized band has been wound to the other spindle tends to prevent any recoil or back lash of the gelatinized apron. The complete forward movement of the lever 37 releases both the front and rear retaining pawls and the front and rear spindle engaging members, while a partial forward movement releases the pawls only, the cam rod shoulders 41 and 48 being positioned to accomplish this result. The cam 36 is also so shaped that a movement of the handle to the rear releases the pawls only, thereby allowing the gelatinized apron to be wound upon the spindle 7 to provide a new and unused printing surface. a

In operation the handle 37 is moved to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5 and the spindle 7 upon which the apron is wound is dropped in the pockets 8a at the rear of the machine. The apron is extended over the printing bed and spindle 7 which is attached to the end of the apron is dropped in the pockets 8 at the front of the machine. The handle is then moved to the vertical position allowing the pawls 26 and 26a to engage their corresponding ratchets. The hand wheel 12 is then rotated to stretch the gelatinized band snugly over the bed plate in which position it will be retained by the ratchets and pawls. When it is desired to move the ribbon to provide a new printing surface, the handle is moved to the rear or may be given a partial forward movement to release the pawls only. The hand wheel then may be turned to wind the apron on the spindle 7 and when the handle 37 is returned to the vertical position the pawls will engage the ratchets and the apron may be stretched over the printing bed as previously described.

When the cam 36 is moved substantially as shown in Fig. 6A, the pawls are operated to 1'67. lease the ratchets, and when it is moved in the opposite direction, the ratchets are first released and a continued movement in the same direction releases the spools.

Realizing that my invention may be varied in its physical embodiment without departing from the spirit of the claims, I desire it to be understood that the specific form and construction herein shown and described is to be taken as illustrative and not in a limited sense.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. The combination with a printing bed having spindles adjacent the ends of said bed and a duplicating apron arranged to be wound on said spindles and stretched over said bed, of means for loosely supporting said spindles adjacent their ends and having pockets for guiding and retaining said spindles therein, releasable means for engaging one of said spindles in its respective pocket to wind the apron thereon, means for looking said spindles against rotation in a direction to loosen said apron, means for rotating one of said spindles in a direction to tighten said apron and a single means for selectively controlling the engagement and locking of said spindles.

2. In a duplicating machine, means for controlling the stretching of the apron over a printing bed and the winding of the apron from one to the other of two spools to which the ends of the apron are attached, comprising means for releasably engaging each of said spools, means for rotating one of said engaged spools, means for locking the other spool against the tension of said apron, and a manually operable cam member for selectively controlling the operation of said locking means and said engaging means.

3. In a duplicating machine, means for controlling the stretching of the apron over a printing bed and the winding of the apron from one of the two spools to which the ends of the apron are attached, comprising means for releasably engaging said spools, means for rotating one of said engaged spools, means for locking said engaging means against the tension of said apron, and a single controlling means for releasing said locking means and thereafter releasing said engaging means.

4. A duplicating machine, comprising a support over which a gelatine apron passes, and having angularly disposed pockets for loosely supporting two spools to which the ends or" the apron are attached, manually controllable clutch means for engaging said spools, said pockets being of a width substantially equal to the diameter of the spools and shaped to automatically align said spools with said clutch means, means for locking said spools against rotation in unwinding directions, means for controlling said locking means and said engaging means, and means for driving said clutch means during the locking engagement to stretch the apron over said bed.

5. In a duplicating machine of the character described, means for winding an apron from one spool to another and for stretching said apron over a bed, comprising clutch means for each of said spools, ratchet means for locking said spools against rotation in unwinding directions, means for rotating one of said clutch means to stretch said apron and means movable to a plurality of positions to release said ratchet means only for winding the apron from one spool to another or for releasing said ratchets and said engaging means for removing and inserting said spools.

6. In a duplicating machine of the character described, means for winding an apron from one spool to another and for stretching said apron over a bed, comprising spring pressed engaging means for each of said spools, ratchet means for locking said engaging means against rotation in opposite directions, means for rotating one of said engaging means to stretch said apron, and means operable to control the operation of said ratchet means independently of or cooperatively with said engaging means.

7. An apron spool supporting device for a duplicator having side frames and a bed over which the apron passes, said side frames having curved and angularly disposed pockets adjacent the ends of said bed for receiving and aligning said spools when they are dropped therein, said pockets being of a width substantially equal to the diameter of said spools and terminating below said bed in a position to allow the apron-wound roll to extend under said bed, said pockets being oppositely and angularly disposed away from the bed with their entrance openings substantially flush with the bed to allow the wound rolls to drop into and be guided in said pockets to a position substantially under the edge of said bed.

8. A duplicator machine, comprising a bed over which a gelatinized apron passes, said apron having spools attached thereto, side frames for supporting said bed and having angularly disposed downwardly and inwardly extending pockets adjacent the ends of said bed to receive and align said spools and to form bearings therefor when they are dropped therein, and releasable means for engaging said spools to stretch said apron over said bed by the engagement of said spools in said bearings, said pockets being of a width substantially equal to the diameter of said spools and terminating below said bed in a position to allow the apron-wound roll to extend under said bed, said pockets being oppositely and angularly disposed away from the bed with their entrance openings substantially flush with the bed to allow the wound rolls to drop into and be guided in said pockets to a position substantially under the edge of said bed.

9. A duplicating machine comprising a bed over which a gelatine apron passes, means for controlling the stretching of the apron over the bed and the winding of the apron from one to the other of two spools to which the ends of the apron are attached, means for locking said spools against the tension of said apron, and a single control means operable to release one of said spools immediately before the other spool to prevent back lash of the apron.

10. In a duplicating machine of the character described, a control mechanism for removable apron spools, comprising means for engaging each spool for winding the apron, detent means for each spool to prevent their rotation in opposite directions, and a single means selectively operable to control the detent means or to control the detent means and engaging means to release said spools for rotation or removal, respectively.

11. In a duplicating machine of the character described, the combination with a duplicating apron arranged to be wound on spindles adjacent the ends of an apron-supporting printing bed, of releasable means for engagement to drive one of said spindles, releasable means for engaging the other of said spindles, means for preventing the rotation of each of said spindles in at least one direction, and a single means for selectively controlling the engagement and rotation of said spindles.

12. In a duplicating machine having a bed over which the duplicating web passes, means for controlling the travel of the web over the bed comprising two spindles to which the ends of the web are attached respectively, and clutch means engageable and disengageable with respect to said spindles respectively, means for preventing rotation of said spindles in an unwinding direction, and common manually operable means for rendering said rotation preventing means ineffective and for disconnecting the clutches.

13. In a duplicating machine having a bed over 

